Window roller screen



July 10, 1951 L; H. HEEREN 2,5

WINDOW ROLLER SCREEN Filed Nov. e, 194e 2 sheets-shew# 1 July 10, 1951 L. H. HEEREN wINDow ROLLER SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III( Filed Nov. 6v, 1946 Patented July 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFI-CE WINDOW ROLLER SCREEN Luitjen H. Heeren, Westmount, Quebec, Canada Application November 6, 1946, Serial No. 708,083

6 Claims.. 1

My invention relates in general to roller screens and more particularly to wire insect-excludingl screens attached to or carried by the window and automatically drawn across the opening as the window is moved toits open position.

The principal object of my invention has been to provide a window screen of this type which may be attached to and rotatably supported by any existing window sash without alteration thereof.

Another object has been -to provide a window' screen 'roller having enclosed spring means for counterbalancing the window sash.

A further object has been to provide a window roller screen which may be attached to the outside of the lower sash and the inside of the upper sash, and be easily repaired or replaced without any special tools or disassembling of any window parts.

A further object has been to :keep the device so located so as to allow the placing of the storm sash, when required, Awithout interfering with the screen or counterbalancing device.

A further object has been to keep the device of an extremely inexpensive nature by employing the same parts for the roller screen as those required for the sash counterbalancing means.

Moreover, my invention is provided with a durable casing for housing the screen roller thus protecting it from rain or snow, and thereby permitting it to remain `attached to the window frame and sash throughout al1 seasons of the year whereby the time and expense of handling the screens twice each year is avoided, as Well as `making unnecessary the'provision of storage space for the screens when Anot in use.

Moreover, this housing has provisions so as to allow the window to be opened, whenever required. without having the screen dra-wn across the `opening as the window is .moved toits opened position, in order to allow window cleaners or others to pass through without impairing the screen cloth.

Moreover, my combination roller screen and sash counterbalance is attractive in appearance and does not in any wise interfere with the :architectural lines of the building on which they are used.

The above objects, as well as lothers which will be yapparent to those skilled in the art, have been accomplished by the `device shown in the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a complete window to which my `invention has Vbeen applied;

Fig. v2 is an enlarged fragmentary Afront elevation of the invention as applied to the lower sash of a window;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan view taken on line III-III of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged ver-tical fragmentary view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the lower sash details and is taken on line V-V of Fig. 2; f

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing some of `the constructional details of my invention;

Fig. T is an enlarged fragmentary sectional pla View taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 2; l

Fig. 8 4is a fragmentary perspective view of the screen clamp' removed from the sill and engaged in the clips provided on the casing; and

Fig. 9 is a Ybroken longitudinalsectiona] v-iew of the roller showing the counterbalance spring secured thereto.

As shown in Fig. 4, my invention is particularly adapted to a window casing It having `an upper sash Il and a lower sash l2, each sliding in grooves I3 and i4, respectively, formed by the i casing and on each side of a parting bead l5.

The invention may be applied to either the upper or lower sash or to both of them as shown yin Fig. 4.

The screen I6 for the lower window is made of insect screen cloth material which has its upper horizontal edge secured to a screen roller 20. `The cloth is wound upon the roller in the usual spiral manner so that when the lower sash is raised, the screen cloth will be unwound and thereby span the window opening. The lower horizontal edge of the screen material is mounted permanently within a screen flange 2l which is detachably secured to the window sill 22 by means of a plate 6B provided with a thumb screw 67. In the complete embodiment of my invention, the roller v2l) not only forms a cylindrical surface upon which to wind the screen I6, but by its formation also provides a recess 23 for the sash counterbalance spring 24 of my invention. One end of the roller 20 is formed with a round pintle 25 which is ro tatably mounted within a bracket 26. The opposite end of the roller 20 is supported by the straight portion 36 of the spring is brought out of the roller and is terminated in a rectangularly shaped pintle 3l for rotatable engagement with the roller and for non-rotating engagement with a bracket 32, whereby when the roller is rotated by the raising and lowering of the window sash, the tension on the spring will be decreased and increased, respectively, as hereinafter pointed 3 out. The brackets 26 and 32 which support the roller are secured to the outside face of the lower sash rail 33 by fastening means which are passed through the brackets and into the wood of the rail. The upper end of the screen is fastened to the roller by any suitable means. So that the roller may be attached to or detached from the brackets, I provide the bracket 26 with a slot 34 through which the pintle 25 may be laterally passed until it reaches the bottom bearing surface of the slot. A latch 35 having a slot 36 opening from its under side is pivotally attached to the bracket 26 by the pivot pin 40. When this latch is in the full line position shown in Fig. 5, the pintle will be retained in bearing engagement with the bracket. When it is desired to remove the roller, the latch is raised to the dot and dash line position, in which position the pintle may be freely removed from the slot, and the roller may then be moved axially to remove the square shapedpintle 3l from the bracket 32. The spring 24 of the lower sash roller 20 is so wound that when the window is closed, the spring will be under its full tension to such a degree as `to counterbalance the weight of the lower sash I2. In order to conceal and to protect the screen and roller from weather conditions, I provide a casing 4I preferably of metal which is formed with an attaching flange 42 along its upper edge by which it is secured to the rail of the lower sash. The casing extends outwardly having preierably an inclined top 43 and a substantially vertical portion 44 formed with an inturned edge portion 45. The edge portion 45 preferably contacts the window sill 22 when the window is closed, thereby completely encasing the roller.

A gear 46 is non-rotatably carried by the end of the roller having the round pintle 25. This gear meshes with a gear rack 5D attached to the parting bead I5 of the window casing. As clearly shown in Fig. 7, the rack is attached to one leg yof an angle member 5I which is in turn attached to the parting bead. Arranged beneath the angle 5I and between it and the parting bead is secured the flange 52 of a runner 53. A similar runner 53 is secured to the opposite parting bead of the window casing by means of an angle 5I. These runners consist of vertical strips of flexible material which extend a small distance toward the center of the window and beyond the edges of the screen I6, as shown in Fig. 6. Each of these runners is designed to contact the inner surface along the edge of the screen so as to close the opening between the screen edge and the window casing and thereby exclude flies and insects. By the provision of the gear and rack, the roller is rotated in deiinite relation to the movements of the window sash, and since one end of the counfterbalancing spring 24 is fixed to the roller, it

will be Wound and unwound as the window is lowered or raised. As the window is raised, the edges of the screen are forced against the runners 53 by reason of the resiliency of the wire screen, and any difference in the diameter of the screen material caused by the rotation of the roller in either direction is also compensated for by the resiliency of the screen. As shown in Fig. 4, the rack of the lower sash extends to a point where it will engage the gear when the lowei` sash is raised to the limit of its upward movement.

The roller 26 for the upper sash is identical to Ythat described for the lower sash, and the brackets therefore are substantially the same as those of the lower roller. rfhese brackets are secured to the rail 54 of the upper sash II and a clamp 2I serves to attach the upper end of the screen I6 to the lintel 55 of the window casing. The spring 24 of this roller is substantially the same as that of the lower roller except that it is so wound that its tension will be decreased when the upper sash II is lowered. A casing 56 is provided for the upper roller 20 and is formed with an attaching ange 5l for securing it to the inside face of the sash rail 54. This casing extends outwardly, upwardly, and then inwardly in reentrant form, the upper edge extending toward the screen and only in sulciently spaced relation to permit clearance of the screen. A gear 46 and a gear rack 50 attached to the same parting bead as the rack 50 of the lower sash are provided for the upper roller and are identical to those ofthe lower roller.

So as to close the opening between the meeting rails 60 and 6I of the lower and upper sashes, respectively, when in their open positions, I provide a closing flange 62 mounted on the lower surface of the meeting rail 6I and extending toward the window pane 63 of the lower sash, and a closing fiange 64 secured to the upper surface of the meeting rail 6D and extending therefrom toward the window pane 65.

By means of the plate 66 which is secured to the sill 22 by means of the thumb screw 61, the screen clamp 2l may be detached from the sill 22. If it is desired to raise the sash I2 without drawing the screen cloth I6 across the opening, I provide suitable means to temporarily attach the screen flange 2l to the casing 4I. The screen iiange 2| is formed in its free edge with a laterally extending slot 69 designed to engage with a guide pin 68 which is carried by the casing 4I and which extends from the edge portion 45 thereof to the vertical portion 44. When the flange is moved into a position of engagement with the guide pin, the free edge thereof is engaged under clips 'I0 carried by the casing, one at each end thereof, where it is frictionally held against movement, the guide 68 preventing any longitudinal movement of the ange while held within the casing. When the flange 2l is in its normal position, the slot 69 will register with and engage the screw 61.

When the screen flange 2| is detached from the sill 22 and engaged with the clips 10, the lower portion of the screen cloth I6, by reason of its resiliency will be drawn up into the casing 4I. thereby protecting the screen cloth I6 from damage.

Obviously, some modifications of the details F herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims; and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the specific details herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, means for pivotally mounting said roller, screen cloth secured at one longitudinal edge to said roller, said roller and the lower horizontal edge of said screen cloth being secured to the window sash and the window sill, respectively, a runner secured to each side of said window sash and engageable with the longitudinal edges of said screen cloth as it is' unrolled from said roller, a counterbalance spring carried by and secured at one end to said roller, means for non-rotatably securing the otherv end of said spring to said sash, and gear means mounted between said roller and said window casing to wind and unwind said spring as the sash is alternately moved to closed and open positions, respectively.

2. The combination with a window casing and a window sash slidable therein, of a window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, a sash counterbalancing spring carried by said roller, whereby said sash is counterbalanced, said spring being secured at one end to said roller and having a straight portion extending therethrough from the other end, said straight portion being formed at its outer end with a rectangular member rotatably supported in said roller, a bracket secured to said sash for rotatably supporting one end of said roller, a second bracket carried by said sash for non-rotatably supporting the rectangular member at the end of said spring, screen cloth secured to and wound about said roller, means for securing the lower horizontal edge of said screen cloth to the sill oi said casing, and means carried by said roller and said window casing for causing non-slipping actuation of said roller by the window sash as the latter is raised and lowered.

3. The combination with a window casing and a window sash slidable therein, of a window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, a sash counterbalancing spring carried by said roller, whereby said sash is counterbalanced, said spring being secured at one end to said roller and having a straight portion extending therethrough from the other end, said straight portion being formed at its outer end with a rectangular member rotatably supported in said roller, a bracket secured to said sash for rotatably supporting one end of said roller, a second bracket carried by said sash for non-rotatably supporting the rectangular member at the end of said spring, screen cloth secured to and wound about said roller, means for securing the lower horizontal edge of said screen cloth to the sill of said casing, and gear means carried by said sash and said casing, whereby said spring will counterbalance said sash.

4. The combination with a window casing and a window sash slidable therein, of a window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, a sash counterbalancing spring carried by said roller, whereby said sash is counterbalanced, said spring being secured at one end to said roller and having a straight portion extending therethrough from the other end, said straight portion being formed at its outer end with a rectangular member rotatably supported in said roller, a bracket secured to said sash for rotatably supporting one end of said roller, latch means carried by said bracket for releasably holding said roller in said bracket, a second bracket carried by said sash for nonrotatably supporting the rectangular member at the end of said spring, screen cloth secured to and wound about said roller, a screen flange for securing the lower horizontal edge of said screen cloth to the sill of said casing, and means carried by said roller and said window casing for causing non-slipping actuation of said roller by the window sash as the latter is raised and lowered.

5. A window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, means for pivotally mounting said roller, screen cloth secured at one horizontal edge to said roller, said roller being rotatably mounted upon the window sash, a casing carried by said sash for enclosing said roller and the cloth engaged therewith, a screen iiange permanently secured to the lower horizontal edge of said cloth, an inturned flange formed at the free edge of said casing for selective connection of said screen flange therewith, means carried by the window sill for detachably securing said screen ange thereto, and clips carried by said casing and coacting with said casing flange for engaging said screen iiange when disengaged, from said sill.

6. A window roller screen, comprising a screen roller, means for pivotally mounting said roller, screen cloth secured at one horizontal edge to said roller, said roller being rotatably mounted upon the Window sash, a casing carried by said sash for enclosing said roller and the cloth engaged therewith, a screen flange permanently secured to the lower horizontal edge of said cloth and formed in its free edge with a slot, means carried by the window sill for detachably securing said screen ange thereto, an inturned casing flange disposed along` the free edge of said casing for selective connection of said screen ange therewith, a guide pin carried by said casing and extending across the space between the casing wall and the casing flange for engagement with the slot formed in said screen iiange when the latter is mounted within the casing, and clips carried by said casing and coacting with the cacing flange to frictionally hold the screen flange in position within said casing when it is detached from the sill.

LUITJEN H. HEEREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 288,160 Chamberlin Nov. 6, 1883 476,154 Lester May 31, 1892 525,381 Abbott Sept. 4, 1894 563,948 Crocker July 14, 1896 1,836,727 Rathe Dec. 15, 1931 

